MANHATTAN (CN) — A former supporter of Guo Wengui said Tuesday he spent over $100,000 investing in the exiled Chinese billionaire’s ventures, which were advertised as a movement against the Chinese Communist Party, but was blacklisted after asking for a refund.
Guo — also known as Miles Guo and Ho Wan Kwok — faces trial in Manhattan federal court under accusations he lied to prospective investors and promised them outsized returns if they bought stock in his Chinese media platform GTV and other companies.
He faces criminal counts of racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering, among others. If convicted, he could spend decades in prison or face possible deportation to China, where he is wanted on accusations of rape, kidnapping and bribery.
Le Zhou — who first heard of Guo in 2017 through his broadcasts criticizing the Chinese government — said he was an active member of multiple of the billionaire’s ventures including GTV, the Himalaya Farm Alliance and G CLUBS. Over the course of his yearslong involvement in Guo’s movement against the Chinese Communist Party, Zhou said he spent over $100,000 with the promise he would receive shares of GTV and make a profit.
But in testimony Tuesday, Zhou said he never received any shares or made a profit. Instead, he lost about $30,000.
“I wanted to get the stocks,” Zhou said repeatedly Tuesday when asked why he continued to invest in Guo’s various ventures.
After the launch of GTV in May 2020, Zhou said he invested over $31,000 in the media platform under the guise he would receive stocks. According to Zhou, he believed his money would be used to “purchase top tier companies and software” to grow the media platform and that his investment would contribute to turning the platform into the top social media platform that would surpass the success of YouTube.
He said he felt confident in his investment because, in various broadcasts by Guo that were played in court, the Chinese billionaire promised he would personally pay back any losses.
“I wanted to be a part of it. So I invested,” Zhou said.
Zhou also was an active participant in The Himalaya Farm Alliance, which was composed of online groups called “farms,” filled with Guo’s supporters, in various cities and countries. The groups in turn pooled money from investors interested in GTV stock.
Zhou was a part of the UK London club, one of the farms that sought to collect investments for Guo’s “whistleblower” movement against the Chinese Communist Party. He said thought his investment was put toward acquiring office space for the various “farms,” on top of funding hiring and additional operating expenses, but added that he had no personal knowledge of how the money was used.
He also invested $70,000 to join G GLUBS, which was advertised by Guo as an exclusive membership for his supporters. By joining G CLUBS, Zhou said he was promised GTV stocks and special deals from travel agencies, among others.
One perk of the membership, Zhou said, was discounts on G FASHION which was advertised as Guo’s luxury fashion brand.
Zhou shared three items he purchased from the brand: a black baseball cap for $200, a black T-shirt for $150 and white silk pants for $800.
He said these items were “ordinary” and “normal” when compared to clothes he regularly purchased.
In 2023, Zhou said he began to be suspicious of how Guo’s various ventures operated and was concerned the leader of his “farm” was misappropriating funds. He asked for a refund but never received one.
Then, in January 2024, Zhou said he saw a post on the social media platform GETTR that announced he was “blacklisted” from Guo’s “whistleblower” movement.
In the social media post shown in court, the post said Zhou was blacklisted for a “malicious attack on the Whistleblower Revolution and GSERIES.”
“Blacklisted persons have the right to submit an appeal within 5 days of the date of announcement and the appeal will be ignored,” the social media post read.
Zhou said he never appealed because he was not aware of the announcement until the five-day period had passed. “I never attacked the whistleblower movement,” he said.
During opening arguments, prosecutors said Guo manipulated investors into purchasing stocks in his various companies under the supposed promise they would make a profit. But the money was instead transferred into accounts owned by Guo to make luxurious purchases that included a $30 million yacht, a $26 million mansion, a $3.5 million Ferrari and two $36,000 mattresses, among others.
“These were lies. And the defendant even lied about the most basic part of the GTV investment: That the money raised by GTV investors would be used by GTV to grown GTV,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Micah Fergenson said during opening arguments last week.
Yvette Wang, Guo’s former chief of staff, pleaded guilty earlier this month to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. She faces up to 10 years in prison and will be sentenced in September.
Guo is an associate of American conservative media strategist Steve Bannon, who he met at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in 2017. Guo initially made headlines in August 2020 when Bannon was taken into custody while aboard Guo’s 150-foot yacht off the coast of Connecticut, on charges he defrauded online donors in the name of helping construct then-President Trump’s southern border wall.
Bannon pleaded not guilty and was pardoned of the federal charges in Trump’s final days in the White House.
Follow @NikaSchoonover
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
Judge blocks Phoenix’s prevailing wage ordinance June 24, 2024 -
